Professor Authors Guide for Accountants on New Standards

PROVO, Utah – Jul 21, 2009 – Following a dramatic shift in accounting practices in the United States, a Brigham Young University accounting professor has coauthored the first how-to guide to help accountants deal with new standards regarding business acquisitions.

Erv Black, associate professor of accounting at the Marriott School of Management, coauthored the guide, "BNA Tax and Accounting Portfolio 5170: Business Combinations."

Black says the new accounting standards drastically change the way companies account for acquisitions — either through purchases or some other means. This guide is the first major publication to take accountants step by step through the new process to put business acquisitions on the books.

To write the portfolio, the authors did more than simply summarize the changes and their implications for the accounting practice. They analyzed the new rules and applied them to different situations that accountants might encounter.

"We hope that accounting and business professionals will be able to use the ‘Business Combinations' portfolio as a guide to understanding the differences with the previous standard and how that impacts their business and the decisions they make," Black says.

Pamela Smith, an accounting professor at Northern Illinois University, and Daniel Gary, a partner at KPMG's Transaction Services, were Black's associates in writing the portfolio, which is available through BNA Tax and Accounting.

The Marriott School is located at Brigham Young University, the largest privately owned, church-sponsored university in the United States. The school has nationally recognized programs in accounting, business management, public management, information systems and entrepreneurship. The school's mission is to prepare men and women of faith, character and professional ability for positions of leadership throughout the world. Approximately 3,000 students are enrolled in the Marriott School's graduate and undergraduate programs.